KHAN NOONIAN SINGH
KHAN NOONIAN SINGH One of the so-called "Artificial Supermen" created by late 20th Century genetic engineering, Khan Noonian Singh (1960-unknown) was the ruler of an area of Earth encompassing the old countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and parts of Iran from 1992-1996. YOUTH Khan was born in Hyderabad Province in old India (now known as Punjab) circa 1960, to genetically altered parents who had escaped a Russian detention center. At age 11 his parents were murdered by Russian agents, and Khan barely escaped with his life. From this moment he began a campaign against the "homo inferiors" who had imprisoned and killed his parents. RISE TO POWER Over a period of years Khan consolidated power as a warlord in far-eastern Turkey, venturing occasionally into Iraq to recruit or subjugate local tribesmen to his cause of regional domination. By 1985 he had acquired enough weapons and men to be the de facto ruler of half of Turkey, from Lake Tuz to the border of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Only four years later he had captured Ankara in the west and most of Iran in the east. By 1992 he was the undisputed ruler of Asia Minor, as well as fringe parts of the USSR and Iran. Skirmishes with United Nations forces convinced western powers to negotiate with Khan, and there followed a period of relative peace for the region. Within a year, at least three other products of the Soviets’ eugenics program achieved similar domination over Afganistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and parts of North Africa. "THE FALL OF THE SUPERIOR" Khan’s subjects gradually grew tired of his metal-fisted rule, and revolt exploded on July 21st, 1996 at the Turkish town of Kara, near the Soviet border. Unknown to Khan, the Soviets were not only supplying insurgents with weapons, but had deployed a force of 20,000 men to back the rebels. It was Khan’s first serious military setback, and encouraged others to join the fight, both in Turkey and in other nations ruled by the self-proclaimed "homo-superiors." These despotic regimes endured heavy fighting in the summer of 1996, and each fell during a three week period between November 14th and December 9th. Khan fled into hiding. ESCAPE On December 24th, Khan and 83 handpicked men and women secretly boarded an early "sleeper ship," the Botany Bay, where they were cryogenically frozen and sent into space. All records of its launch were destroyed, and Khan’s whereabouts remained a mystery until 2267, when the Botany Bay was intercepted by the Federation star ship U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701) under the command of the famous Star Fleet captain, James T. Kirk. REVIVAL The Enterprise was able to reanimate Khan and 71 of his crew from their cryo-freeze of 250 years, thus making them the oldest humans currently known. Upon revival Khan attempted a mutiny on board the Enterprise and he and his followers were marooned on a remote planetoid as a result. His final disposition is classified as "unknown." BOOKS Quest For Blood: Khan and the Homo Superiors (Thomas Palmer, Pocket Books, 2012) The Warlords (David Buscema, Greb Press, 2066) The Mystery Solved: Khan Noonian Singh and the Sleep of Rage (Liefeld McFarland, 2270)